Charge and Discharge Performance of Over-Discharged Lithium-ion Secondary Battery—Lessons Learned from the Operation of the Interplanetary Spacecraft HAYABUSA

Yoshitsugu SONE; Hiroki OOTO; Takashi EGURO; Teiji YOSHIDA; Masaaki KUBOTA; Hiroyuki YOSHIDA; Masahiro YAMAMOTO; Shigeru SAKAI; Keita OGAWA; Yasuo TAKEDA; Masatoshi UNO; Kazuyuki HIROSE; Michio TAJIMA; Jun’ichiro KAWAGUCHI

doi:10.5796/electrochemistry.75.950

Articles

Charge and Discharge Performance of Over-Discharged Lithium-ion Secondary Battery—Lessons Learned from the Operation of the Interplanetary Spacecraft HAYABUSA

Yoshitsugu SONE, Hiroki OOTO, Takashi EGURO, Teiji YOSHIDA, Masaaki KUBOTA, Hiroyuki YOSHIDA, Masahiro YAMAMOTO, Shigeru SAKAI, Keita OGAWA, Yasuo TAKEDA, Masatoshi UNO, Kazuyuki HIROSE, Michio TAJIMA, Jun’ichiro KAWAGUCHI

Author information

Yoshitsugu SONE
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
School of Physical Sciences, The Graduate University of Advanced Studies
Hiroki OOTO
Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd.
Takashi EGURO
Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd.
Teiji YOSHIDA
NEC Toshiba Space Systems, Ltd.
Masaaki KUBOTA
Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd.
Hiroyuki YOSHIDA
Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd.
Masahiro YAMAMOTO
Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd.
Shigeru SAKAI
Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd.
Keita OGAWA
Advanced Engineering Services Co., Ltd.
Yasuo TAKEDA
Advanced Engineering Services Co., Ltd.
Masatoshi UNO
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Kazuyuki HIROSE
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
School of Physical Sciences, The Graduate University of Advanced Studies
Michio TAJIMA
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Jun’ichiro KAWAGUCHI
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Keywords: Lithium-Ion Secondary Cell, Over-Discharge, Aerospace, Micro Gravity

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2007 Volume 75 Issue 12 Pages 950-957

DOI https://doi.org/10.5796/electrochemistry.75.950

Details

Abstract

The Japanese spacecraft, HAYABUSA, was launched on May 9, 2003 and spent more than 2.5 years approaching the asteroid ITOKAWA. This spacecraft used 13.2 Ah lithium-ion secondary cells. After HAYABUSA touched down on ITOKAWA in December 2005, it could not communicate for seven weeks due to a malfunction of the attitude control. During this period, four of 11 lithium-ion secondary cells were over-discharged, and solar power was unavailable due to the spacecraft’s tumbling motion. However, the battery power was still indispensable for sealing the container with the asteroid sample. The seven remaining healthy cells were slowly recharged using minimum current. During this time, ground simulation tests using similarly-built and intentionally short-circuited cells were carried out to evaluate the battery’s operational safety. After its safety was confirmed, the lithium-ion secondary battery was used to transfer, latch, and successfully seal the sample container into the reentry capsule. The necessary power for these actions was supplied by the battery.

Corresponding author

Correction information

Register with J-STAGE for free!